Soldiers asked to disarm during Leon Panetta speech in Afghanistan

US soldiers were asked to disarm during a speech by Leon Panetta, the American
defence secretary, in a sign of grown concern over spates of seemingly
random violence in Afghanistan.

A large security detail surrounds Leon Panetta during his visit to Afghanistan. Nato's forces have been seeking to step up the vetting of the thousands of Afghans who work on military basesPhoto: GETTY

However, US troops often remain armed even when their Afghan colleagues have been asked to lay down their weapons and the incident is believed to be the first time they were stripped of guns during an address by their own secretary of defence.

The Ministry of Defence was unable to confirm reports that a small number of British troops had also been asked to put down their weapons.

Mr Panetta told the troops that the massacre of civilians and the resulting Afghan fury would not affect plans to keep US troops in the country until the end of 2014.

"We will be challenged by our enemies, we will be challenged by ourselves, we will be challenged by the hell of war itself," he said.